On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijani armed forces attacked Artsakh. The offensive was preceded by a grueling ninth-month blockade.

The large-scale military assault launched by Azerbaijan was accompanied by the ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population. Military installations and civilian settlements were targeted.

Artsakh’s entire population, some 120,000 people, was forcibly displaced. 223 people died, including twenty civilians, six of whom were minors.

Today, the Artsakh National Assembly in exile passed a law designating September 19 as the “Day of Forced Displacement and Demands of the People of the Republic of Artsakh.” 

Friends and family gathered at Yerevan’s Yerablur Military Cemetery today to pay homage to those who died defending Artsakh over the years.